I vote Mexican. You cannot have too many Mexican restaurants.

While I think most of us agree that we don't love the term "gastropub", the Australian gastropub concept gets my vote. It would be a welcome addition to that neighborhood and a fun place to go before or after Mustang Alley's upstairs.

Plus, with the new Latino restaurant opening in February in Harbor East (is it called Talara???) and the abundence of Mexican-Latino restaurants in Upper Fells Point, I would hate for El Centro to fail because of oversaturation due to all of the similar restaurants in close proximity.

Good luck!

I'm ready for something different. The idea of an Australian Gastropub intrigues me.

It has a greater chance of success if it's GOOD. Mex had a decent chance of success, and it's terrible!

I wanted to find out what food one might find at a gastropub and found this one on Long Island (handlebarlongisland.com). The menus look pretty similar to those at James Joyce in Harbor East or Lucy's across from the Hippodrome without the Irish food.

I'd vote for a Mexican-Latino restaurant.

I vote gastropub. Since I live in the area, I have many good, cheap Mexican options. If I wanted anything more, I'd go to Arco's.

I think this city needs an Austrailo-Latino restaurant.

I vote that we hunt down and kill the person that made up the word "gastropub". Or at least send Lissa after him or her.

how 'bout an "Austrian-Latino" restaurant? They could wear lederhosen and serve sauerkraut nachos. Maybe a nice Linzertorte with Mexican chocolate topping. The possiblities are endless.

I just don't get why these 2 (Australian vs Latino) are the favored cuisine. Maybe I don't get out enough...(sigh)

I'm with you Hal, but first we need to mess him up good. You're more likely to find me skipping through a meadow in a sun dress than in a gastropub. Leave it the effing English to have to make up a twee-ass word like that to describe a bar with palatable food. Suck it Jamie Oliver!

I'm not sure what would distinguish an Australian gastropub from a more generic one. What would be uniquely Australian about the menu? And I'll admit to being sceptical about the idea that a gastropub will actually have better food that a plain ole vanilla pub. The word "pub" to me doesn't imply a place I go for the high quality food.

But most of all I second (third? fourth? fifth?) the growls about the word "gastropub." As a colon cancer survivor who has regular dates with a gastroenterologist, I can promise you that there's nothing appetizing about the prefix "gastro." I think I would avoid a place with that name just because of the name.

Australian gastropub

How about kangaroo, koala, and wombat for entres?

I agree with some of the other comments in regards to their being plenty of Latino options in the area already, so I'd opt for something different. As long as the Australian gastropub doesn't use those computerized liquor measuring devices that were everywhere in Sydney. Hard to get a stiff drink Down Under unless you pay up. Guess that's why they love their beer so much. But there were slot machines in all the bars to gamble away what you didn't spend on drinks. Now that we getting slots here maybe a few could be spared for such an endeavor.

I've had kangaroo. Tastes like chicken.

Joyce, I want some of that Mexican chocolate linzertorte. Sounds wonderful!

(And, yeah, gastropub=pretentious.)

from:
http://www.harboreast.com/dine.htm

Talara: Opening February 2009

A Nuevo Latino tapas restaurant and bar featuring authentic Latin American recipes. The menu consists primarily of small plates and a bar menu with an extensive selection of South American classics to exotic island favorites.
----------------------------------------------------

Nuevo Latino? Idiots.

¿Dónde está Roberto?

Wasn't there an Australian place in Federal Hill a few years ago. I think they had kangaroo on the menu.

Hopefully if the Aussie option is selected the place won't go for the real down under feel that would now include severe water restrictions. I can't wait to see the restrooms.

Someone thinks that the current economy will support another new restaurant? He must know something that the rest of us don't. Good luck to him!

If it ibecomes an Australian gastropub, they better serve Vegamite on toast. If not, it's not authentic in the least.
Of course they will have to figure a way to get Vegamite into the country.

While I am not real familiar with the area in which Tsunami was located, and the fact that there are numerous Latino/Mexican type restaurants nearby, ummm...who would go to that area for Aussie grub and beer? To me, it seems like more of a suburban type place. But I haven't been to Little Italy and its surroundings in a good while so maybe there are enough folks there to venture over to the gastropub.

(by the way, I don't like that gastropub name either)

Sidebar! -
When I was in Bahrain and an Aussie grain ship tied up behind us. The sailors on that merchant ship invited a bunch of us Navy sailors onboard to have a few beers. I must say, real Aussie beer like Toohey's Draught is really good.
I will never forget their Aussie saying that "You're not really drunk until you throw up on your shoes".

As a person who cleaned those gastro - scopes for more years than I care to remember, I am completely grossed out by the name gastropub.

Fl Rob, it has not escaped my notice that just about every other country in the world (besides us) really enjoys tying one on in a very uninhibited manner!

Joyce,
I feel for you, cleaning out those scopes. I understand that they use the same ones for endoscopies and colonoscopies! ewwwww....

I understand there is a one-use sheath they use over the scopes? I sure hope so.

I'm not thrilled with the name "Gastropub" either, but anything Aussie is good by me!

Of course, I also think unprintable things about most Mexican food.

Fl Rob, for the most part upper scopes are for uppers and lower scopes for lower. The scopes are washed and sterilized after every use by a trained professional. (Don't try this at home kids!)

Years ago, when I was in Miami, I noticed that there were endocenters on every corner. I couldn't begin to fatham why, but I would not trust the cleaness in those Joes Endo places.

"(handlebarlongisland.com). The menus look pretty similar to those at James Joyce in Harbor East or Lucy's across from the Hippodrome without the Irish food."

Elliot - If I'm not mistaken the Handlebar was on that Gordon Ramsey crappy restaurant show. The finished product, of course, being Ramsey's menu.

Why would anyone use "gastropub" when it makes people think of colonoscopies? It's beyond me. How about calling it the "Poop & Brew"?

Whenever I hear it I hate it. It seems like the kind of place by and for a-holes, literally and figuratively. I will never set foot in any place that calls itself a gastropub. I even hate typing it. I think my fingertips just threw up.

"Australian" is a meaningless term. They have no cuisine. Weird animals with pouches is not a cuisine. So if we elimnate the food from food and beverage, we just have beverage. Australians are famous for being vulgarians of the highest order. They are proud binge and barf drunks. Not everyone, but that's their drinking identity. The beer is nothing special at all. So Australian Gastropub is utterly meaningless. Call it Australian tapas for all it matters.

The owner must have money to burn if he's thinking about a Nuevo Latino (also a lame term) place when someone down the street has already scooped him on it.

"The owner must have money to burn if he's thinking about a Nuevo Latino (also a lame term) place when someone down the street has already scooped him on it."

What place are you referring to?

What place are you referring to?

Talara. I posted the description and website above in a previous comment. Opening in Feb.

Cosmo Girl, Vegemite is available here. Says they ship UPS or USPS within the U.S.

Somewhere I have a chili recipe that calls for both red and grey kangaroo meat. I guess there's a discernable taste difference between them.

I'm all for an upscale Mexi-Latin place. A carbon copy of Lauriol Plaza would do really well in that space. The flour tortillas have to be made on-site though. So many places overlook what a fresh, steaming, slightly doughy tortilla can do for what is inside of it.